^18:17The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser²⁶ from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem,²⁷ along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went²⁸ and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.²⁹^18:18They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them.

^18:19The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence?³⁰^18:20Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk.³¹ In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? ^18:21Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. ^18:22Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’ ^18:23Now make a deal³² with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. ^18:24Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.³³^18:25Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March³⁴ up against this land and destroy it.’ ” ’ ”³⁵

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Footnotes

26 For a discussion of these titles see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (), .
27 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
28 Heb “and they went up and came.”
29 Heb “the field of the washer.”
30 Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
31 Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
32 Heb “exchange pledges.”
33 Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23–24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
34 Heb “Go.”
35 In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.